by Tom Pelissero, USA TODAY Sports

by Tom Pelissero, USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Cowboys were planning for a day like this when they signed Kyle Orton to a three-year, $10.5 million contract to be their backup quarterback in March 2012.

Well, not exactly like this - with Tony Romo lost for the season six days before what amounts to the NFC East title game against the Philadelphia Eagles - but they paid a premium to lure Orton, who'd been benched in Denver the previous season in favor of Tim Tebow.

That demotion, followed by a request for his release, will be an ignominious entry on Orton's NFL obituary someday. As emergency options go to start one game that will decide the season, though, Orton is probably about as good as it gets.

Now 31 and in his ninth NFL season, Orton is 35-34 as a starter with the Chicago Bears, Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs. He has 81 career touchdown passes and just 59 interceptions. He's not nearly as mobile as Romo, but he does have a strong arm and good accuracy in the pocket.

"He hasn't played in a while," an executive in personnel for another NFL team told USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity for competitive reasons.

"However (he has) starting history, been there for two seasons, so should have good command of offense with same coaches in same offense. He's a veteran, number two, pocket-passing QB."

As recently as three years ago, some scouts considered Orton an average-caliber starter. Of course, he's now three years older and has thrown just 15 regular-season passes since he left Kansas City, where he was mediocre at best after the Chiefs claimed him off waivers in 2011.

For all their flaws, including one of the NFL's worst defenses, the Cowboys have a shot to go to the playoffs in part because of the ability Romo, 33, showed off in Sunday's comeback win over the Washington Redskins that kept them alive.

He threw the winning touchdown pass to DeMarco Murray on fourth-and-goal from the 10 after aggravating a herniated disk in his back that has ended his season, a person with knowledge of the injury told USA TODAY Sports.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the medical details were to remain confidential.

"Fourth-and-(goal), game on the line, scrambles, keeps the ball alive, hits the mark to Murray and they win the game," Eagles coach Chip Kelly said Monday afternoon, before news reports surfaced that Romo's season was over.

"I'm always on what you did last, and what he did last was pretty special - the way he avoided the rush, kept drives alive - and I think he's a talented a quarterback as there is in this league.

"Any time with that position sometimes I think you get probably too much credit and too much blame. But he's one of the really, really, really good quarterbacks we've seen, and I said that the first time we played him. If you're a fan of just quarterback play, he's pretty special."

That's why the Cowboys gave Romo a seven-year, $119.5 million contract in April even though they've won just one playoff game in eight seasons with him at the helm - a stigma he was hoping to erase this year, starting by beating the Eagles on Sunday.

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett wouldn't rule out Romo at his Monday media conference, though he acknowledged there's no telling when or if his starter might be able to practice.

"We have Kyle Orton here for a reason," Garrett said. "Kyle knows that he has to be ready."

That's what they've already paid Orton more than $7.2 million over the past two years to do, knowing full well his only chance to justify that investment would mean something bad happened to a much larger investment.

Orton's not the sort of quarterback who's going to elevate the pieces around him. He needs pieces in place, and the Cowboys have that, starting with receiver Dez Bryant and Murray, who might now be the most important player on the team.

But can they keep pace without Romo against an Eagles team that is averaging 34.6 points over its past seven games and just drubbed the Bears 54-11 on Monday night?

The Cowboys have about 10 million reasons to hope they found the right way to make the answer yes.